From Distraction to Action
s01e03: The Neuroscience of Motivation and the Power of Maker Mode
At present, I’m more distracted than normal. My brain is not flowing at capacity, and my motivation-tubes feel crimped.
Maybe it’s because drama and outrage are like water that seeps into every crack and crevasse of my digital feeds, freezing and unthawing until the foundations of my mind crumble.
Maybe it’s because television has niched down to make the perfect binge-worthy shows for any psychographic. (I’m currently addicted to From, which combines the nostalgia of Lost with the horror of Stephen King.)
And speaking of addiction, maybe it’s because Nintendo’s long-awaited Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom came out, in which they perfected the effort-to-reward ratio to such an extent it should be considered an amphetamine. (Maybe I’d get more done if I ‘switched’ to meth?)
🤷🏻♂️ The Difference between Reasons and Excuses
And yes, these are all excuses. When someone is explaining why something didn’t happen, pay close attention to whether they are giving you reasons or excuses.
Reasons for failure have extrinsic causes you have no control over and could not have foreseen (for example, you are late for a meeting because there was a fire on the subway, and all cars were stalled for thirty minutes).
Excuses for failure have intrinsic causes that you could have controlled, mitigated, or foreseen and avoided (for example, you are late for a meeting because of morning rush-hour traffic—even Google Maps can help you anticipate travel delays). Excuses are the result of expecting the world to revolve around you.
Most of this distraction (and subsequent demotivation to write) is self-imposed and avoidable. For example, whenever I’m doomscrolling I remember the insightful words of James Clear, author of Atomic Habits: “All your thoughts are downstream from what you consume.” I ask myself, “Is this really what you want to be thinking about for the rest of the day?” This motivates me to stop and do something else like read a book. So far, all of my paperbacks remain troll-free.
In addition, some things begin as reasons and then devolve into excuses. Stress can begin as an extrinsic force imposed on you by life’s constant lapping at the shores of your well-being, but it quickly becomes an excuse if you refuse to build breakwaters to lessen the impact.
If “fear is the mind-killer” (as popularized by Frank Herbert’s Dune saga), then stress is the mind-number (number as in ‘more numbing’). While stress-induced adrenaline may sharpen focus and attention in the short-term, constant long-term exposure causes anxiety and sleep deprivation. This, in turn, inhibits cognition and motivation, which causes more stress. This vicious cycle is the taker of disproportionate mindshare and a distractor of infinite appetite.
So how do we continue creating when faced with such a barrage of distractions?
💪🏽 The Effort Should Be the Reward
It has become almost common knowledge that dopamine is the molecule that directs a lot of our behaviour and motivation. We can understand that our brains will reward our behaviour with dopamine, which can make us feel pleasure. But there’s also a flip side to this. If we reward ourselves too much, especially at the end of a particularly difficult stretch of work, we experience pleasure and satisfaction but then we crash below baseline (often called a postpartum mood drop) in equal proportion and are demotivated until we can claw our way back up to baseline again.
Dr. Andrew Huberman, a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine and the host of the very popular Huberman Lab podcast, has spoken significantly on this topic. He offers a novel solution that really hit home with me: instead of consistently rewarding results, which has the counterintuitive effect of long-term demotivation, consider the effort as the reward.
To paraphrase Dr. Huberman: focus on the pleasure that comes from the effort itself, even if it hurts. You can do this by telling yourself that the pain you feel during the effort will lead to an increase in dopamine release later, which will actually increase your baseline dopamine.
You also need to tell yourself (especially during moments of ‘the most intense friction’) that you are doing it by choice and because you love it. You don’t need to believe this, at first. You just have to want to believe it. I am currently testing this out, and it feels like a motivational cheat code.
This is very different from thinking about the reward that comes at the end. You can still reward yourself for progress, just not every time. This will ensure you don’t ‘burn out’ your dopamine circuits.
SIDEBAR
I just discovered an incredible new AI service that creates searchable language models (used by generative pre-trained transformers like ChatGPT) that allow you to converse with popular podcasts. For example, instead of watching hundreds of hours of Huberman Lab or Googling transcripts for keywords, you can now just talk to Andrew Huberman AI. For example, I asked it the following question:
“How does dopamine above baseline make us feel?” and this was its response:
The applications for this are staggering. Imagine having scholars, researchers, and experts always at the ready to answer your questions! The future is already here.
🥚 The Wobbly Path
Applying Dr. Huberman's insight about focusing on the effort as the reward, we come to the concept of Maker Mode (something I’ve written a bit more about here). It aligns well with this neuroscience-backed approach to motivation
When it comes to creativity, the act of creation is the most important thing there is because without the act there is nothing. When you’re in Maker Mode, a creative state whose primary purpose is action, you’re not worried about how you are feeling, or how passionate or motivated you are; you are just doing. Brenda Ueland and Stephen King say the same thing: if you want to be a writer, you have to write. And by extension, a painter needs to paint, an actor needs to act, singer needs to sing, a creator needs to create.
When I'm in Maker Mode, I don't worry about whether I'm feeling inspired or motivated. I just sit down and start writing. Sometimes the words flow easily, and sometimes they don't. But I keep writing anyway, because I know that the more I write, the better I'll get.
There’s a Japanese term for this mastery mindset called “ichigyo-zammai” (一曲進呈), which roughly translates to “one thing at a time.” It comprises relentless focus and dedication to the task at hand, pursuing mastery through continuous improvement and a singular commitment to the moment. In his article, The Practice of Ichigyo Zammai: An Effective Antidote to Distraction, Vikram Sharma pulls the perfect quote from the Buddha: “When you are walking, walk; when you are sitting, sit. Don’t wobble.” All your distractions are just wobbles. Mindful work is the stabilizer.
👟 Don’t Follow Your Passions, Let Your Passions Try to Keep Up
So how do we get out of our predictable slumps? You have to write or work your way out. Don’t wait to be motivated or inspired. Don’t follow your passions. Focus on getting better at your craft by doing the work, and remaining aware and in the present.
In line with the principles of Maker Mode, Cal Newport introduced the concept of the Craftsman Mindset in his book So Good They Can’t Ignore You. He handily explains the difference between a ‘craftsman mindset’ and a ‘passion mindset’. When you constantly worry about following your passion, being inspired, and doing only what you love, your sole focus is on what the world can offer you. You are asking the world to attune itself to your wants and needs. You are saying, “Feed my desire.”
With a craftsman mindset (aka Maker Mode), you focus instead on what you can offer the world. Instead of waiting for the stars to align around your current infatuation, you create satisfaction around a job well done. You earn your chops through a commitment to learn and grow and incrementally improve. You are giving something of yourself to the world. You are saying, “Here, take this. I made this. Do with it what you will.”
This flip in one’s perspective (focusing on what you can give versus what you can get) can mean the difference between misery and purpose, especially when it comes to creative endeavours. That’s not to say you can’t follow your bliss, or get inspired, or be passionate about a project; just realize that your art is in service to the world rather than the other way around. You will experience far more motivation this way.
👐🏽 Catching SDTs
The Craftsman Mindset echoes principles of the Self-Determination Theory, a framework which posits that motivation stems from three psychological needs: autonomy, competency, and relatedness. Let’s break it down a bit further in relation to creativity.
Autonomy is a sense of control. Making choices and decisions allows you to feel ownership over what you do. When your actions align with your values and goals, satisfaction increases and motivation rises. Having a Craftsman Mindset or being in Maker Mode gives you a singular focus where you perform at our best. You are deciding to work harder, you are deciding to improve, you are deciding to love the effort.
Competency is feeling capable and worthy of a task. Work and practice pay dividends in building confidence. This confidence and drive can motivate you to get through issues and manage setbacks. Maker Mode encourages commitment to quantity and incremental improvement through routinized creative exercises; because the more you do, the better you get. Quantity leads to quality.
Relatedness is about belonging, of feeling understood. This need cannot be pulled off alone for obvious reasons but can be met by sharing your work with friends, trusted co-workers, or on appropriate digital platforms. Look specifically for people you can trust, who are kind and supportive, yet honest and constructive. There’s something wonderfully counterintuitive about the strength we gain when we make ourselves vulnerable and share our work. When we feel supported and connected to others, our motivation is also increased.
When some or all of these three needs are met, performance, well-being, and personal growth improve—as does engagement and drive.
🪄 Motivation isn’t Something that Just Happens
After delaying my newsletter and procrastinting for weeks, after following every distraction as an excuse for not moving forward, I decided (autonomy) to write a brief outline about the thing that was blocking me: distraction.
When my motivation waned, I pushed through it, telling myself how much I enjoyed putting words next to each other (effort as reward), even when it was hard.
For days, I kept this file open and plugged away at it, a few moments at a time, consistently pushing ideas forward (ichigyo-zammai).
I used ChatGPT as my editor, listening to its criticisms and suggestions for a more cohesive flow (competency).
It (GPT) really didn’t like my “Catching SDTs” joke, and thought the Sidebar was disruptive, but I kept them in because it reflects my style, for good or for worse, and I want to share my personality through my work (relatedness).
When I felt blocked, I took time out to daydream, or went for a run (I will write more about Running Thoughts and Sleepworking in a subsequent issue).
Slowly, and then all of a sudden, it was done.
If you’re anything like me, you get distracted and demotivated constantly. But that’s no excuse not to keep moving forward. If you find yourself sapped and lacking spirit, slip into Maker Mode. Become aware of your choices, take pride in the practice, and share what you’re doing with someone you trust. Do your best to enjoy the struggle, to appreciate the journey, to take one conscious step at a time, no matter how small.
The rest should take care of itself.
🤑 While I may earn a small affiliate fee for some of the links in this newsletter, none of the products or services mentioned are paid advertisements and were hand-picked independently by me, Jason Theodor.
There's a grey area somewhere between Reasons and Excuses. As my dad would say "Accidents don't happen, they're caused".
I like this quote:
“Never make excuses. Your friends don't need them and your foes won't believe them.”
― John Wooden